History 24/01/20 Attack on Loknya: as the feat of Alexander Matrosov helped the red Army
In our country it is difficult to find a person who does not know the name of Alexander Matrosov. About him much has been written in the Soviet time, do not forget now. But what is interesting: details about the battle, in which he made the feat you can find a lot, but on the question of the operation of the combat, few even of professional historians to answer.
And there is no mysterious overtones. Just so happened in the war.
In the shade of “Mars” and “North star”
all of the Kalinin front in 1942 and beginning of 1943 acted against army group “Center” in futile attempts to eliminate the Rzhev salient. Operation “Mars” that led to huge losses and did not give any real results — just about it.
Against the group of armies “North” in early 1943 was not less Grand in scale, casualties and lack of results, operation “polar star”. In this operation, the Kalinin front did not participate. But he led his little (but only in scale, not losses) a war against the southern flank of group of armies “North”.
it is Clear that in Soviet times about “Mars” and “North star” to remember no one wanted. In the post-Soviet time of the action on the flank of the Kalinin front was like in the shadow of two more major battles.
In January 1943, the Kalinin front was held Velikiye Luki offensive operation, which though was not completed all the tasks, but the city of Velikie Luki were released.
In the development of the Velikie Luki operation was a planned attack on an important transport hub of the Loknya, with a further purpose to surround Kholmsk grouping. Forces, the Germans were little, the right flank of group of armies “North” was covered by a separate security parts and two divisions: the 213th infantry was in Gorode Hill, and 93-I was widely stretched front.
the 6th Stalin Siberian volunteer rifle corps
For the operation was a task group under the leadership of Deputy commander of the Kalinin front, General-Lieutenant Mikhail Nikanorovich Gerasimov.
the group had two buildings. One of them is the 6th Stalin Siberian volunteer rifle corps. And about the body and about were part of a compound written in Soviet times was a lot. And how all the people decided to create it, and how many were volunteers, even instead of the planned division, the whole corps was created, and that it was a lot of Communists and Komsomol members.
But, of course, did not write that the personnel of the compounds were among the deportees: deported ex-kulaks, and various other “hostile elements”. This, incidentally, does not negate the fact that the case really recruited volunteers, may may not all. It is worth noting that citizens of the affected rights, the army did not call, and for many of them it was a chance to go to protect the Homeland. Despite their hard fate of such there were many.
the Special place occupied in the case of 91-th separate Siberian volunteer brigade named after I. V. Stalin. It was mainly formed from the prisoners of the labor and educational colonies of the NKVD. It and served as Alexander Matrosov, who himself belonged to the categories mentioned above, but the brigade he was too late. That is understandable, because no relation to Siberia, where the brigade was formed, he had not.
In operation “Mars” 6-th infantry corps of the 37, 500 people have lost 25 to 400. For a new offensive the case was replenished, the number of replenishment was Sailors. He went on to study at Krasnokholmskaya infantry school, but very little, and got to the front in the rank of private.
also in the group Gerasimov was the 2nd guards corps, which consisted of the 8th guards rifle division, the famous “Panfilov”. Another division, 33 infantry, and alsochalk glorious history, has finished his journey passing through the streets of Berlin to the Reichstag.
the attack on the Loknya
the operations described in the article of the historian Vyacheslav Mosunova, “the attack on the Loknya”.
since the troops did not have time to focus, the timing of the offensive was postponed from the 20th to the 24th of February.
26th of February, the 150th infantry division and the 81st armored brigade were able to overrun the weak defenses of the Germans, the German putting the 93 – division and the right flank of 16-th army under the threat of encirclement. 91 infantry brigade on the night of 25 th to 26 th of February and the beginning of the battle for the village Chernushki, which took the 27th.
the feat of Sailors made the 25th or 27th of February, in different documents different dates. In any case, it’s not the 23rd of February, as written in the Soviet times, since the onset of the 6th corps only started the 24th. He died during the assault on the village Fence, and not Black cumin. This writes Semyon Ekshtut in his article, the reconstruction of “miles and seconds Alexander Matrosov”.
the success of the Soviet troops over. 26 February, troops of the 16th German army completed the evacuation from the Demyansk bridgehead. It released a considerable amount of effort that has strengthened the defense in the most critical areas. Against the group Gerasimov, the Germans transferred further part of the 12th and 123rd infantry divisions, though badly battered, but significantly changed the balance of power. Until the 10th March, the Soviet troops tried to continue the attack, without much success, but with heavy losses.
though the Germans managed to hold the Soviet offensive, but it cost them dearly: 454 people killed, 1 776 wounded, 76 missing, more than 200 frost-bitten.
In the 6th rifle corps, to the beginning of the operation, which had approximately 40,000 people on the 1st of March has a little over 35,000, 5th March at around 32 000, and the 10th of March, not more than 30 000 fighters.
the offensive of the army has joined the list of failed operations in the first half of 1943.
Cyril Shishkin
Source:
© Russian Seven
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